The forest is for us… It is what we have. It helps us maintain our livelihoods.
Her Excellency Sylvanie Burton
President of the Commonwealth of Dominica
Continue readingTag Archives: IFC
High-Level Retreat in New Hampshire as part of Bretton Woods at 80 Initiative
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2024 – As part of the previously announced Bretton Woods at 80 Initiative, the IMF and the World Bank Group are hosting a high-level retreat at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, on September 26‒27, 2024.
This two-day Chatham House Rules event will bring together a small and diverse group of global thinkers—including individuals prominent in the fields of history, international relations, political science, finance, and business—at the location of the 1944 United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (the “Bretton Woods Conference”).
Event | Business Ready 2024 – New Data for a Dynamic Private Sector | World Bank Live
Event | Business Ready 2024 – New Data for a Dynamic Private Sector | World Bank Live
In developing economies, the private sector generates 90% of jobs, 75% of investment, and over 70% of output. A well-functioning and well-regulated private sector is essential to accelerating economic growth, boosting productivity, and reducing carbon emissions. Yet, as the world grapples with the slowest growth rate in three decades, this engine of growth struggles to regain its footing.
The World Bank’s Business Ready 2024 (B-READY) report assesses the business environment across the globe. Improving upon the Doing Business report, B-READY offers more comprehensive data and analysis that can guide policy reforms and foster private sector development that benefit firms, workers, markets, and society as a whole.
Join the conversation with #BusinessReady
Why inclusive finance must be central to the climate response
As we approach the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly and the UN climate change conference COP29, the global climate agenda is being defined by intense discussions around climate finance. But largely missing from this debate is the question of who has access to this funding.
The need to channel climate finance into the hands of those most affected by climate change is well recognized. The issue is at the heart of the loss and damage talks and was central to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s speech on World Environment Day, where he underscored how it’s “a disgrace that the most vulnerable are…struggling desperately to deal with a climate crisis they did nothing to create,” and argued that “the global financial system must be part of the climate solution.” It has also been key to COP negotiations ever since the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage was established in 2013.
Continue readingFrom investment accelerations to growth miracles
The 2020s were supposed to be the decade in which significant progress would be made 
toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Instead, the 2020s have delivered the weakest half-decade of global growth of the past 30 years. Weak investment growth is a major reason for this disappointing outcome.
Four innovative ways the World Bank is fighting corruption
Corruption has a disproportionate impact on the world’s most poor and vulnerable, increasing 
costs and reducing access to basic services. It erodes trust in governments and is a driver of conflict and fragility. It enables environmental and safety controls to be bypassed, contributing to pollution, environmental damage, and sub-par infrastructure. Corruption also affects private sector trust and investor confidence. And it reduces local revenue collection through tax erosion, depriving governments of resources for funding public goods.
In the global development math, multiplication beats division
Concessional finance—that is, grants and low-interest loans—is more important than ever for 
the world’s poorest countries. Yet today’s aid architecture is highly complex, fragmented, and offers limited concessionality. In this context, it’s important to find ways to leverage the available resources for the biggest, most effective impact.
Remarks by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia
As Prepared for Delivery
Thank you for the kind introduction.
For me, this moment marks the culmination of a journey that began over a year ago—when I first started at the World Bank and promised to visit every region where we operate.
Climate Finance Fiscal Year 2024 Snapshot
WASHINGTON, September 19, 2024 — The World Bank Group delivered a record $42.6 billion in climate finance in fiscal year 2024—which covers July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024—supporting efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, investing in cleaner energy, more resilient communities, and stronger economies. This is a 10% increase in climate finance compared to the previous year.
Pacific Island Leaders Call for Bold Action to Replenish IDA (worldbank.org)
SUVA, September 10, 2024 –Leaders from across Pacific Island countries have called for a robust 21st replenishment of the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA21), echoing the call from African Heads of State who agreed in April on a bold transformation agenda with IDA as a cornerstone. Hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, leaders and representatives from 11 countries met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga last week and reaffirmed IDA’s critical role in supporting Pacific islands as they work to boost development and climate resilience.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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